Electric motors impact almost every aspect of our lives. Pumps, refrigerators, vacuum cleaners, air conditioners, air handlers in furnaces, exhaust fans for furnaces, virtually all fans of nearly every kind, computer hard drives, automatic car windows, and a multitude of other appliances and devices use electric motors to convert electrical energy into mechanical energy. Additionally, electric motors are also responsible for a very large portion of industrial processes. Electric motors are used heavily at some point in the manufacturing process of nearly every product produced in modern factories. When these motors fail, problems result.
Electric motors have long been used to drive pumps. A sump pump is often the first line of defense against rain water, water heater failure, or a plumbing failure. A sump pump may fail for many reasons, which can cause flooding and damage. Many factors can cause a sump pump to operate incorrectly. The most common cause of failure or incorrect operation is the age of the pump. Additionally, while the life of a sump pump has an impact on its operation, failure or incorrect operation is often caused by an amount the pump is used and the quality of the water being pumped. The average sump pump typically fails within five to seven years. With heavy usage, that pump life can be cut dramatically.
Another cause of failure for pumps is dirty water. Sump pumps can become clogged when materials in the water that are too big and block screens that allow the water into the intake of the sump pump. Blockage of this water often causes the pump to operate incorrectly. Sump pumps also fail because due to electrical problems, such as when electricity is improperly provided to the pump. For example, a storm may cause a power failure causing a pump connected to the grid to not function. Unfortunately, a nonoperational sump pump will often be needed most during a heavy storm.
Some solutions attempt to overcome problems with operating a sump pump during a power failure by including a battery. However, many problems plague the attempted solutions of the prior art. For example, batteries often fail to maintain a charge. Similarly, charging circuitry or an inverter unit can fail, leaving the battery without charge. Additionally, pump switches can fail, can operate incorrectly due to improper installation, or could otherwise be faulty and cause a pump to fail when need most. Other problems related to pump systems can occur, such as vapor locks, frozen pump impellers, backwards check valves, improper water discharge, and numerous other causes of failure. Often, pumps “freeze” up because they have not been activated in a long time.
No solution presently exists that solves the problems discussed above. However, several solutions have been proposed out of desire prevent pump failure, but ultimately fail tosolve the problems with the current state of the art. As an example, Metropolitan's Ion GenesisPump Controller product attempts to test a pump, but does not actually turn the pumps on fortesting and instead inadequately monitors a water level to report whether the pumps are notworking properly. Additionally, Glentronic's Deluxe Float Controller product only turns on oneprimary pump to “exercise” it, but is disadvantageously unable to detect if a pump has failed. NexPump's AiJet product attempts to test a pump, but is only compatible with a limited range of proprietary primary and/or BOSP pumps. Furthermore, a PeakFlow system product attempts to test a pump, but is limited to testing only one specific pump.
What is needed is a central controller module for controlling and monitoring universal pump components. What is needed is a testing and monitoring system to determine an operational status of a pump component. What is needed is a testing and monitoring system that is universally operable with a variety of pumps, battery systems, and other pump components. What is needed is a system capable of waking a pump to perform diagnostics and monitor an operational condition. What is needed is a system that can communicate a status and/or condition of the pump to a system monitor via a network. What is needed is a device to allow for remote monitoring of a pump and pump components by a service company. What is needed is a system capable of accommodating, controlling, diagnosing, and monitoring of multiple pumps substantially simultaneously. What is needed is a method of operating the system to diagnose and monitor operation of a pump and/or pump components.